Chapter 16
Three days had passed since Ashley awoke, once again, in her bed back in her world. And in that time, she constantly thought about how, for the second time, she gave her life for the man he loved. But this time she had proof that it wasn't a dream. She gazed back down at her engagement ring and felt an overwhelming sadness invade her heart. She could barely sleep since she was constantly plagued with an overwhelming fear of her dreams. She doesn't want to fall asleep and have another dream about him and only wake to face the cold reality of her world.
"Ashley?" She looked up at her professor who was staring down at her with concern. "Are you feeling alright? You seem very…" Ashley sighed.
"I haven't been sleeping lately." She said. "Bad dreams."
"Perhaps you should see a doctor." Ashley just shook her head.
"I don't think a doctor can help me with what I've got." She said as she lifted her bag to her shoulder. She caught sight of her ring then looked down at it with love and sadness. This didn't escape her professor.
"Could these dreams have anything to do with… a man?" Ashley paused but didn't look her professor in the eye.
"You don't know the half of it." And with that, she made her leave.
Anime Boston was coming up and that meant a long weekend of panels, guests, music, games, the like. Thursday was when they would make the ride to Boston and spent the weekend in the city. She made a promise to herself that she wouldn't make the trip alone… after what happened the previous year.
"Never again." She whispered to herself as she thought back to that terrifying experience.
When Ashley returned to her room, he pulled out her costume and inspected it, making sure it was in good condition. She looked upon the blue dress and white apron of her Alice costume and smiled. Anime conventions were her ways of being herself yet also being someone else. She looked forward to these events each year with child like anticipation. After putting the outfit away, she took out her second outfit. Alice's ball gown. She remembered how in her dream she wore this exact dress to the Masquerade, only the color was blue instead of pink. Ashley was not one for pink, but since the dress was still a costume, she let it slide, for now.
"Today is Wednesday," she said to herself, "tomorrow, we go to Boston." She placed the dress back in the suit case as her mind wandered back to Paris. To think, six years ago she had been in a world she believed was nothing more than a dream. Did anyone else know? Did her father know? Her sister? Anyone? She felt like a fool. Now that she knew the truth, would Erik try and find her or would he think her dead like before?
Please, come and find me. Please come and rescue me.
Elsewhere…
In a school about 200 miles from her, something just as interesting had only just occurred.
"You excited for AB?" A boy asked a pink haired girl. Her bright blue eyes shining with secret anticipation.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She said calmly. "I wouldn't miss it." She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes.
"You know, you don't have to work so hard Chris." The boy said. The girl chuckled.
"I work hard because I can." She said and placed her glasses back in place. "I'm gonna get something to eat. Care to join me Darren?" Darren smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I thought you'd never ask." Christine proceeded to pick up her things and place them in her bag before putting on her jacket. As the two left the library on their way to one of the many Chinese restaurants in town, up above, a streak of light appeared in the sky.
"A shooting star." Christine stopped walking and looked up to see more shooting stars fly across the sky.
"Whoa! Chris, over there!" She turned to where Darren was pointing and saw something, or someone, unconscious on the sidewalk.
"Oh my God!" They ran over to the person and tried to get a look at his face. When they turned him over, the first thing Christine noticed was the white mask covering half the man's face. "It can't be."
"You know him?" He asked the pink haired girl. Christine couldn't hide the shock on her face as she stared at the man before her.
"Yes, I know him." She said. "We need to get him somewhere."
"My dorm building isn't too far. Let's go there." Christine nodded and they began carrying the unconscious Phantom away.
Erik couldn't remember what happened before he blacked out. All he remembered was hearing Madame Giry telling him Ashley's body was not found where he left her and he tried going back down to find her. But when he was only half way down, he began feeling dizzy and collapsed on the cold ground of the stone corridor. As he began regaining is faculties, he noticed that he was not lying on the stone ground but on something soft. Or, at least, softer. He tried opening his eyes and found himself in a very unfamiliar setting. There were two beds in the room, one of which he was occupying, some strange objects rested on the tops of the furniture. As he took in his surroundings, he knew he couldn't still be in Paris anymore. He tried getting up when the door opened and a young man came in and noticed him.
"Hey, you shouldn't try to get up." He said and pushed him back down onto the bed. "You gave us a real shock last night buddy. We were about to call an ambulance to get you." Erik rested his head on the pillow and brought a hand up to his face. He felt something amiss about his face when he didn't feel his mask and began to panic. "Relax! It's right here." He gestured towards the desk right next to them and, as he said, his mask was resting atop it. He reached for the mask and brought it back to his face. "I gotta say man that is a really good make up job. Are you into theater too?" Erik just stared at the boy wondering why he didn't seem at all uncomfortable about his face.
"Do you not fear me?" He wondered.
"Should I be?" He asked. Erik was unsure about this boy. He said he's not bothered by him, but he saw his face! "So, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Darren." He said holding his hand out to him. Erik reluctantly took it.
"Erik." He said cautiously.
"So, how do you know Christine?" Erik's head snapped towards Darren at the mention of Christine.
"Christine is here? How could she be here?"
"She goes to school here." He said matter-of-factly. Erik was feeling slightly confused. He realized it could be the Christine of his world. Whoever this Christine was, how could she know him?
Christine sat in her dorm room thinking back to the night before. She had come across someone dressed like the Phantom of the Opera. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar as well; as if she knew this particular Phantom. Her mind automatically thought of Ashley. She had a terrible urge to call and make sure her baby sister was alright. So, she picked up her phone and picked out her number on her contacts. The phone rang three times before someone answered.
"Hello?" She was relieved to hear her on the other end.
"Hey, it's Christine."
"Hi Christine. What's up?"
"Just thought I'd check in on you." She answered. "Say, Ashley… has anything happened to you recently? Anything… unusual?" There was a long pause before she could answer.
"Um… unusual how?"
"I mean, anything." Ashley didn't answer. "Ashley?"
"Christine, you wouldn't believe me if I did tell you." She wasn't expecting to hear this. She felt her stomach knot up as she spoke.
"Ashley, tell me." She heard her sigh on the other end.
"Something did happen to me." She explained. "I met someone." Christine felt herself relax a bit.
"Well, that is unusual. I never thought I'd see the day my little sister would-"
"I'm not finished." Ashley said in a clipped tone. "I met someone… in another world." Christine felt her blood run cold.
It can't be. She thought.
"It was him." She heard her whisper.
"Who?" Christine asked.
"Nothing." Ashley said hastily. "Anyways, I can't talk right now. I'm getting my stuff together for Boston. I'll see you at the convention, right?" She could tell she was avoiding the answer. And she feels that this Phantom they found may be part of the reason.
"Yeah, I'll see you there." She said. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing."
"Thanks. I'll see you later then." And with that, she pressed the disconnect on her phone.
Could she have remembered? She thought. It had been a long time since the incident those years ago and she feared if her sister had any recollection of what happened to her. So far there was no indication, but she never doubted she knew something.
"Time for answers." She said and grabbed her jacket before exiting her room. She needed to find this Phantom.
There was a knock at the door and Darren went to answer it. When the door opened, in entered a pink haired girl with black rimmed glasses over her crystal blue eyes.
"Is he awake?" She asked him.
"Yeah, he just woke up." He turned towards the bed where Erik was resting. He looked up at the girl and noticed the recognition in her eyes.
"Can I have a minute alone with him?" Darren didn't protest and decided it best to leave anyway. When they were alone, Christine turned to face Erik again. "I suppose you don't remember me."
"I take it you're Christine." He said. She smiled.
"Yes, but I mean you don't remember me… from before." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You kidnapped my younger sister." Then it finally dawned on him. He did recall Ashley interacting with her family before at the opera house at the competition. He also remembered a young blond haired girl who would constantly fight with her.
"You're Ashley's sister." It wasn't a question, Christine was sure.
"So you do remember." She chuckled a bit. "Yes. I'm Christine White." She soon regained a cold demeanor as she addressed him. "So, what do you want with her this time?" Erik's eyes narrowed at her question.
"What are you asking?" Christine took a seat at the desk near the bed.
"I know what you did before. That you kidnapped her and held her captive for three days before her 'death' during her rescue." Erik's eyes flashed with fury at her words.
"What are you getting at?" She shook her head.
"We were told you killed her." He sprang from the bed and he pinned her to her seat frightening her greatly.
"I did no such thing!" He roared. "It was they who murdered her, not I!" He pushed himself away from her and walked to the window, gazing out at the strange world before him. "I would never harm such an angel." Christine saw the way he looked as he spoke of her and felt regret at her accusation.
"But, when you took her…" He sighed.
"Since you were obviously present during the competition, you must remember the wish she made." Christine thought back to that day and to when Ashley was announced the winner. Then when Ashley voiced her wish… to stay in Paris.
"She wanted to stay… because of you." Erik smirked at her realization.
"I was merely granting her wish. For, you see, I was the reason she succeeded. I trained her voice in the time she was there up until she was discovered. There was no other way."
"You love her, don't you?" He flinched a bit at her words. "I'm right, aren't I?" He released a shuttering breath.
"You don't know what it's like… to see the one you love die before your eyes… then spend six, long, agonizing years believing them dead. Then she came back to me." Christine jerked her head up at this. "She recently paid a visit to my world. In that time, I had no idea she was alive and well. And when she revealed herself to me…" His fists were clenched at the memory. He felt awful for not realizing her sooner. "…But in time, I knew she returned. I tried to protect her as I had before, but she was taken from me once again."
"So you're here to take her back." She finished.
"Precisely." He said easing himself back onto the bed. "She still wears my ring."
"Your ring?" She asked. He met her eye and sent her a silent hint causing her to give a shocked look. "You were going to marry my sister?" He turned away.
"Yes." He muttered. Christine shook her head.
"I can't believe this."
"You'd best believe it." He said coolly. "I intend to find her and take her back. For six long years I presumed her dead when she was indeed alive and well. But this time, I will not let that happen again." Christine was surprised. In all the time she had known the story of the Phantom of the Opera, she never expected for him to be standing before her and declaring his feelings for her younger sister. But she could sense his feelings were true.
"I actually just spoke with her." That regained his attention. "She's on her way to Boston."
Ashley stared out the window of the coach bus, watching as trees and signs rush passed them as they make their way down the highway towards Massachusetts. She looked back down at her ring and felt her heart start to break. She wasn't sure if she would ever see Erik again after this. He probably thought she was dead… again. She wasn't even sure how she managed to get back this time; it just happened. Would it happen in another six years? She couldn't wait that long.
"Ashley." Her head snapped up when she heard her name.
"Huh?" She turned to her friend next to her.
"I was just asking if you wanted to switch seats. We can move back a few closer to the group." Ashley looked behind them and saw two empty seats towards the back.
"Oh, sure." They picked up their bags and they moved further to the back of the bus.
"Are you feeling okay? You've been spacing out more than usual." Ashley couldn't help but smile.
"I'm fine." She lied. "It's just a long drive."
"It is. But by tomorrow, the convention awaits." Ashley tried feeling excited for Anime Boston, but her mind just kept wandering to her time in Paris. Wishing she could return to Erik and stay in his realm of music. Now that she knows none of what happened was a dream, how will she live her life? She can't go on as if nothing changed. Damn, why was this so complicated?
Later that night, the day had been eventful enough even though the con wasn't for another day. After arriving in Boston, the group made their way to the train station and purchased 7-day tickets for the T train. Afterwards, they made their way to the hotel to check in and drop off their things before making their way to the convention site where they could register; since they pre-registered they could take care if this now. Then they took the train and went to an authentic ramen shop and bought some actual ramen. Now, they were back at the hotel completely exhausted from the day. By now, everyone was asleep, dreaming of the coming days. All except for Ashley. As tired as she was, she found sleep was eluding her, as it had been for the past week. She slipped out of bed and went over to the window on the far side of the room and looked out over the city.
"Oh Erik…" She sighed.
"The day starts, the day ends, time crawls by… Night steals in pacing the floor." She sang to herself as she made to leave the room, making sure to take her key card with her. "The moments creep, yet I can't bear to sleep… 'til I hear you sing…"
Christine had told Erik that they would be making the trip to Boston tomorrow morning. The thought of finding Ashley was consuming his thoughts and making him restless. Just then, he thought he heard someone singing and turned towards the window.
"Erik, what is it?" Darren asked seeing him move towards the window.
"'Til I hear you sing…."
He heard her voice singing in his mind. Her voice filled with a terrible longing, singing for him to find her.
"And weeks pass. And months pass, seasons fly… Yet you don't walk through the door…" He began singing as if responding to her, "…and in a haze I count the silent days… 'til I hear you sing once more."
"And sometimes at nighttime
I dream that you are there
But wake holding nothing but the empty air"
Ashley found herself outside the hotel. As she felt the cold night air blow around her she felt an overwhelming feeling overtake her. She didn't know what it was, but she has felt it once before, though she can't remember. She suddenly heard a voice. His voice. She searched the shadows around her thinking she would catch him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"And years come, and years go, time runs dry… still I ache down to the core…" She heard his voice sing on and felt her heart swell a bit.
"My broken soul can't be alive or whole… 'til I hear you sing once more." She sang back. "And music, your music, it teases at my ear… I turn and it fades away and you're not here!" She fell down to her knees and felt tears threatening to fall. "Let hopes pass, let dreams pass, let them die!"
"Without you, what are they for?"
"I'll always feel no more than halfway real… 'til I hear you sing once more!"
Both Erik and Ashley sang out in their respective places and somehow could feel each other's presence. Ashley could almost hear his voice singing right next to her as Erik could almost hear her voice crying out for him.
Erik knew he had to find her. He would fight to bring her back with him, and kill all those in his way.
The song used in this chapter was 'Til I Hear You Sing from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies.
Once again, they have a musical moment where they're in separate places but they can still sing together. But I also made some changes to the Anime Boston chapters because I was also working on this a little before the con and a little after the con. For the after, I had a better idea on how to make the traveling seem.